USAF Issues Draft Change to CSAR-X Request

Boeing reports it has received a draft of the latest change to the U.S. Air Force's request for proposals to provide a new combat search and rescue helicopter. The draft of Amendment 6 of the Combat Search and Rescue X proposal was sent out April 11. Bidders have until tomorrow to provide answers to it. The Air Force intends to issue the finalized change April 22, just a few days before it is to brief bidders on its assessment of their proposals based on Amendment 5. Amendment 6 isn't expected to include any major changes, but it will delay the Air Force's award of a contract from its target of July to October. The service in November 2006 picked Boeing's HH-47 bid to replace its aging and cramped Sikorsky Aircraft HH-60G Pave Hawks. But two successful protests by Sikorsky and a team led by Lockheed Martin overturned that award. Sikorsky is proposing a variant of its S-92, while the team of Lockheed Martin, AgustaWestland, and Bell Helicopter is offering a version of the AW101. For related news